Report: The Next iPhone Won’t Have a Headphone Jack

Every other year, Apple releases a totally redesigned iPhone. In 2012, it was the iPhone 5, in 2014 the iPhone 6. So next year we should see the iPhone 7, which — even though it’s probably ten months from being released — is already enjoying its spotlight in the rumor mill.

The latest “insider report” on Apple’s next phone: It won’t have a headphone jack. Sound crazy? Maybe not.

Japanese blog Mac Otakara, a “reliable source” cited by Apple news blog 9to5Mac, is claiming that Apple’s iPhone 7 will be a good deal slimmer than the company’s current handsets. Among other things, that reportedly means that the long-standard 3.5mm audio jack will be deleted.

In its place, Apple will purportedly push the iPhone’s Lightning port as the new standard connector for wired iPhone headphones. After Apple introduced audio-over-Lightning support in iOS 7, some companies began selling headsets offering “high resolution audio” when connected via that port.

Mac Otakara’s iPhone 7 rumor blog — which does have a decent track record — went on to suggest that Apple would, if the headphone jack does go bye-bye, ship the next iPhone with Lightning port EarPod headphones .